melanie jean juneau

The secular world desperately needs to hear the perspective of Catholics on pressing issues, especially on the sanctity of human life. However most religious authors write in a small niche, read mainly by fellow Catholics and perhaps a few other critics we would secretly love to block. An amusing analogy came to me the other day which clarifies this dilemma.

Consider the life of an ant, not a queen ant, a worker ant.

Worker ants scurry about, hauling loads of food that are bigger than they are. They are completely oblivious to the world around them, fixated solely on their own tiny society. Often this narrow viewpoint leads to disastrous results, with whole colonies wiped out of existence when the macrocosm surrounding them crashes into their little world.

Unfortunately, it is impossible for people to communicate with an ant, or to warn an ant of danger. Any offer of help frightens him because an ant perceives anything which intrudes into his microcosm as a threat. I cannot help an ant because I cannot communicate with him.

Much of my religious life resembles the routine of an ant.

I run around busy with tasks, keeping my nose to the proverbial grindstone, oblivious to the realities of the rest of human society. Never mind the universe or even the God whom I declare as my Lord. I have my routine; I rush to attend mass, read spiritual books, squeeze in prayer and fulfill all the duties of the moment, including writing about my tiny microcosm

When secular society, the wider Body of Christ or even the Holy Spirit Himself, tries to break through to warn, change or help me, I panic, feel threatened and run away, returning to labour in my little world where I feel safe. My earnest striving is counter productive because it isolates me from larger realities that surround me. Most importantly, my striving isolates me from the work of the Holy Spirit within me because I am in control.

Fortunately, God is better at communicating with me than I am at communicating with ants. He only needs a sliver of an opening in my heart, a quick glance in His direction, or a fleeting thought to make a connection with me. In fact, God became one with all of us, in a sense he became the equivalent of an ant, so He could speak, touch, love and become visible to”ants”on earth.

Living the Life of a Child of God

Thank God for Christ, because He offers an easy way out of ant prison. As Catholics, we must break out of our microcosm and listen to the rumblings in the world and in wider the Body of Christ. Most of all, we are invited to become in sync with God and what He wants to do through and in us.

The answer to our dilemma is the opposite of what you might think. Relax. Give up striving. Surrender to His love and let it saturate every cell of your body. Then simply let His love flow through you. It ends up being a long journey to such carefree lifestyle because pride and ego get in the way. It is so simple that it seems complicated to our adult, logical minds.

No wonder Jesus says,

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

And in even stronger terms,

“I assure you,” He said, ‘unless you are converted and become like children, , you will never get into the kingdom from heaven…’” Matthew 18:4

A relationship to the living God is child’s play and is not dependent on us acting like a worker ant.

Listen to this exchange between my young children:

One afternoon, I was making dinner, standing at the counter with my back to our three youngest children. Grace and Daniel were lounging around the kitchen table, with three-year-old Rebecca perched like a little elf on a high stool, happily swinging her legs.

Still facing the counter, I looked over my shoulder and intruded on their conversation, I commented,“Smart answer, Rebecca.”

Rebecca was not done, though,“But she’s not my real mum, Mary is.”

Grace rolled her eyes, slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand and said incredulously,“Where does she get this stuff?”

I tried to explain as simply as I could,“Well, the Holy Spirit is in her heart and she listens to His voice.”

Rebecca jumped right back into the discussion and chanted in a sing-song, lilting voice,“That’s right. God the Father in my heart. Baby Jesus in my heart. Holy Spirit in my heart. Mother Mary in my heart but I still like mum and dad the best!”

Grace rolled her eyes and plunked her head down on the table with a loud sigh,“Where does she get this stuff?”

I just laughed.

A few weeks later, as I crouched down to tie Rebecca’s shoelace, she picked up the small gold cross I wore around my neck and said,“This is the cross of Jesus and the glory of God shines all around it.”

Grace rolled her eyes again, slapped her forehead and asked,“Where does she get this stuff?

If adults received this sort of “stuff” in prayer, they would consider it a rare gift of profound revelation. Yet this child of three simply received such infused contemplative insights with ease, right from the source of all truth because she was open and relaxed in the presence of God. Children are not yet conditioned to strive and scurry around like worker ants.

If I want to to do something about world peace, abortion and the state of the Church by writing articles which will touch hearts and move secular mountains, then it is time to stop acting like a worker ant and time to start writing like a child of God who only writes what her Heavenly Father tells her to write.

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Published by melanie jean juneau

Melanie Jean Juneau serves as the Editor in Chief of Catholic Stand. She is a mother of nine children who has edited her kid's university term papers for over a decade. She blogs at joy of nine9 and mother of nine9. Her writing is humorous and heart warming; thoughtful and thought-provoking. Part of her call and her witness is to write the truth about children, family, marriage and the sacredness of life. Melanie is the administrator of ACWB, a columnist at CatholicLane, CatholicStand, Catholic365 , CAPC, author of Echoes of the Divine and Oopsy Daisy, and coauthor of Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood.
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2 thoughts on “Are We Writing Like Worker Ants or Children of God?”

I love this gorgeous piece! Thank you, Melanie. I love the idea of being instruments of the Holy Spirit, letting him guide us in prayer, and I scoring us to communicate in ways that can touch all human hearts…
Xox
Anna